Viacom closes MTV Games

We have been able to confirm that Viacom, parent of MTV Games, has officially shut down operations. The move comes in the wake of the sale of Harmonix, developer of the Rock Band and Dance Central franchises. The move isn’t actually that surprising, as Viacom has not been pleased with the performance of the MTV Games unit and that led to the decision to sell off Harmonix.

While a small number of employees from the financial staff are apparently still reporting to work in the New York office, we believe (based on a number of reports) that this is only to take care of outstanding receivables and close out the books on MTV Games. From what we hear, this should only last a few more weeks while they wrap things up.

One bit of unresolved business appears to be the legal entanglement that Viacom/MTV Games is still engaged in with Harmonix. Harmonix claims that Viacom/MTV Games has been avoiding payment of performance-based bonuses that the studio met the criteria to receive. Harmonix claims the payments were never made, and Viacom denies this claim. It is believed that this legal battle will continue and will not be resolved any time soon.